In a location adjacent to a place in a city of some significance, what comes out of my head is plastered on the walls of this blog.

Friday, October 28, 2005

My Favorite Themes - Part I

In case you didn't already know, I am a film music fan. Every so often, I'll run across a theme from a score that I just can't get out of my head. At home, at work, traveling - I'll hum or whistle it. I've taken it upon myself to post some of my favorite threads and what I think of them. Here is the first in a series.

Score:Bubble Boy by John Ottman (The Usual Suspects)About the film: It's like this: Bubble-suit clad Donnie Darko travels to Niagara Falls to stop Wendy Peffercorn from getting married. Along the way, he runs into Babu from "Seinfeld", Blue from Old School, Spy Kids' Machete and Mini-Me and his cadre of freaks. He also must avoid his parents, Sebastian's therapist from Cruel Intentions and Drew Carey's brother. Trust me, this description is funnier than anything you'll see in the film (except for comic Zach Galifianakis, amusing as a bus stop ticket seller).Title: "Bright and Shiny". This theme follows the insane cult of Bright and Shiny, whose members are only named Todd and Lorraine. The melody for ascending choir never fails to put me in a good mood. Track 18 ("Phreaks to the Rescue") is my favorite use, as the theme runs into the off-kilter 'phreak' music, making for a truly fun piece of scoring.Other theme(s) of interest: The main theme is a wonderfully whimsical tune, best heard in track 1 ("Birth of Bubble Boy"). Availability: Released on the Varese Sarabande label in 2001. It should be available, if not at your local record store, then certainly at Amazon.com or on Ebay.